Motor fuel



Patented Nov, 26, 1940 Q UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MOTOR FUEL James H. Boyd, Jr., Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to The Atlantic Refining Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania No Drawing. Application April 3, 1937, Serial No. 134,842

4 Claims. (01. 44-9) The present invention relates to the production about 107 parts by weight of sodium cyanide and of motor fuel of improved anti-detonation charthe mixture was subjected to gradual heating. acteristics, and relates more particularly to the At a temperature of about 575 F. water was production of anti-detonation agents, which, in given off, and at about 600 F. oily liquids and it themselves, may be employed as motor fuel or as ammonia resulting from the reaction commenced 5 addition agents for hydrocarbon motor fuels. to distill from the mixture, together with water.

A principal object of this invention is the con- The temperature was gradually raised to about version of hydrocarbon sulfonic compounds, and 855 F. and maintained until the reaction apparticularly petroleum sulfonic acids and/or sulpeared to have been completed and no further 7 10 fonates resulting from the sulfuric acid treatdistillate of the oily liquid was obtained. The 10 ment of light petroleum oils into compounds suitcrude oily product, amounting to about '71 parts able for use as motor fuels, motor fuel addition by weight was washed successively with water agents or solvents for gums, resins, lacquers and and dilute mineral acid to remove ammonia, and the like. then with water to remove traces of mineral acid.

A further object of this invention is the con- The oily product was thereafter dried and sub- 15 version of preferably water-soluble sulfonic acids jected to distillation at reduced pressure (about or sulfonates derived from the sulfonation of 1 m/m. absolute), a total distillate of 91% being petroleum naphtha, gasoline, kerosene or gas oil. recovered, bas p e crude y P into improved motor fuels or solvents by the charged. Thedistillation was carried on in such thermal treatment of the alkali metal sulfonates a m nn r as o pr uce hre is ill e fractions, 20

in the presence of alkali metal cyanides. having boiling ranges as follows:

Briefly, my invention comprises the thermal treatment or fusion of a petroleum sulfonic com- Boiling range pound with an alkali metal cyanide such as f (1 m/m. absolute Ymld sodium or potassium cyanide attemperatures 25 sufiicient to efiect reaction and/or decomposition F. Percent of the sulfonic compound in the presence of an 8% fig alkali metal cyanide. Such thermal treatment 3l6to ass 9.5 or fusion is preferably carried on at temperatures 384 v between about 400 F. and 900 F., and at pres- 30 sures which may be sub-atmospheric, atmos In order to ascertain the value of the oily prodpheric or super-atmospheric. The products, not as an anti-detonation agent, about 10% by usually oily liquids, may be separated from the volume of the most volatile fraction, 1. e., Cut #1, reaction mixture either during the fusion, or was blended with a straight-run gasoline having after fusion has been completed. The separation an octane number of 41 (A. S. T. F. R. 35

may be accomplished simply by vaporization or Method D 357-34 T). The resulting blended fuel distillation of the oily products directly from the had an octane number of 50. By employing sulreaction mixture, and the oily products may be fonic compounds produced by the sulfonation of separated into fractions by fractional condensapetroleum distillates lighter than gas oil, for

tion. Or, the oily products from the fusion example, gasoline or kerosene sulfonates, there 40 treatment may be condensed and the resulting may be obtained by the fusion treatment a liquid washed with water and/or dilute mineral greater yield of lower boiling oily products, paracids and subjected to fractional distillation for ticularly Oi y materials boiling Within the othe separation of fractions of varying boiling line or motor fuel "distillation range, i. e., from 45 range. about 100 F. to about 400 F. at atmospheric 46 My invention may be further illustrated by th pres ure. In gen ral I pref t pl as a following example: source of sulfonic compounds, petroleum hydro- Petroleum sulfonic acids resulting from the carbons boiling within the gasoline-gas oil boilsulfuric acid treatment of a recycle gas oil froma ing range, i. e., from about 100 F. to about 50 high temperature cracking process were recov- 700 F. 50 ered from the acid sludge produced by such treat- The oily product produced by the above dement and were neutralized with sodium hydroxscribed method may likewise be employed as a ide to yield the corresponding alkali metal sulsolvent or thinner for paints, varnishes, lacquers, fonates. Approximately 200 parts by weight of gums, or resins and the like. The addition of the recovered sulfonates were admixed with about 33% by volume of Cut #1 to' a petroleum 55 solvent naphtha having a kauri-butanol number of 41 (Circular #378, Amer. Paint 8: Varnish Mfgrs. Assn., Feb. 1931), raised such number to 58, thus indicating the marked increase in solvent power of the blended material.

While, in the above examples, I have shown the use of the oily products obtained by the thermal treatment of alkali metal sulfonates in the presence of an alkali metal cyanide as addition agents for motor fuels and solvents, I may also employ such oily products, per se, as fuels or solvents.

In the production of blended motor fuels containing the oily products of this invention, there may be employed in lieu of or in addition to petroleum distillate or gasoline, other materials such alcohol, benzol, esters, ethers and ketones or mixtures thereof. Likewise, in the production of solvents or thinners containing the described oily products, there may be employed in addition to or in lieu of a petroleum solvent naphtha, other agents such as alcohols, esters,- ethers or ketones and the like.

What I claim is:

1. The method of increasing the anti-detonation characteristics of gasoline, which comprises adding to the gasoline, in an amount sufficient to substantially increase the anti-detonation characteristics thereof, a liquid oily material boiling over a substantial range within the temperatures of from about F. to about 400 F., and produced by the fusion of an alkali metal cyanide with an alkali metal salt of a petroleum sulfonic acid derived from petroleum hydrocarbons boiling within the range of from about 100 F. to about 700 F.

2. The method of increasing the anti-detonation characteristics of gasoline, which comprises adding to the gasoline, in an amount suilicient to substantially increase the anti-detonation characteristics thereof, a liquid oily material boiling over a substantial range within the temperatures of from about 100 F. to about 400 F., and produced by the fusion, at a temperature within the range of from about 400 F. to about 900 F., of an alkali metal cyanide with an alkali metal salt of a petroleum sulfonic acid derived from petroleum hydrocarbons boiling within the range of from about 100 F. to about 700 F.

3. A motor fuel of improved anti-detonation characteristics, comprising gasoline to. which has been added a liquid oily material boiling over a substantial range within the temperatures of from about 100 F. to about 400 F., and resulting from the fusion of 'an'alkali metal cyanide with an alkali metal salt of a petroleum sulfonic acid derived from petroleum hydrocarbons boiling within the range of from about 100 F. to about 700 F.

4. A motor fuel of improved anti-detonation characteristics, comprising gasoline to which has been added a liquid oily material boiling over a substantial range Within the temperatures of from about 100 F. to about 400 F., and resulting from the fusion, at a temperature within the range of from about 400 F. to about 900 F., of an alkali metal cyanide with an alkali metal salt of a petroleum sulfonic acid derived from petroleum hydrocarbons boiling within the range of from about 100 F. to about 700 F.

JAMES H. BOYD, JR. 

